Xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis is an uncommon destructive inflammatory disease with accumulation of lipid-laden macrophages, fibrous tissue, and inflammatory cells. It is often mistaken for gallbladder cancer due to diffuse wall thickening of gallbladder and infiltration into neighboring organs. And it is usually difficult to distinguish xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis from gallbladder cancer based on clinical, radiographic, or laboratory testing. Patients with xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis often undergo cholecystectomy to confirm the diagnosis, and to exclude gallbladder cancers. We report a case of 69-year-old woman with xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis who had been treated with steroid and avoided extended resection.

No abstract

Gallbladder cancer is the most common malignancy of the biliary tract and carries very poor prognosis. Surgery is an only curative modality of treatment in the gallbladder cancer. However, as most of the gallbladder cancers are diagnosed at advanced stages, surgery can be attempted in a very limited number of patients. In advanced stage, treatment option is confined to a palliative systemic chemotherapy, and biliary decompression is needed when cholangitis is suspected. We report a case of 49-yearold patient with metastatic gallbladder cancer treated with successful curative resection after several courses of palliative chemotherapy and biliary decompression.